To many people around the world,” Swiss” is a mark of quality. This label has come to be associated with excellence, precision, high-quality, and luxury. Some of the things that come to mind include chocolates, banks, knives and, of course, watches.

If you know your watches, you’re aware that the Swiss make excellent timepieces. Their reputation for producing many of the world’s finest watches has made them a strong contender for the title of the best watchmakers in the world, though many fans of Japanese watches will argue otherwise. But however strong the competition from the east, the Swiss have consistently proven that their rich history, high-precision workmanship, and overall sophistication have cemented their place as the unsurpassed masters in watchmaking.

Here are the 18 best swiss watches for men.

Citizen Promaster Dive Watches mix modern functionality with classic looks. Underwater, they can alert you to rapid ascents and serve as max depth reminders.

Dive watches are still a relatively modern accomplishment. The Citizen Promaster Dive watch exemplifies the achievement with construction that encases delicate parts within a sealed, stainless case.

From there, the brand offers classic and modern styles with the latest dive-specific technology.

Modern Function, Classic Styling

Citizen has made watches for more than a century and has earned iconic status among watch enthusiasts and collectors who value durability and function in addition to design. That is, in part, due to the brand’s innovations.

In 1970, Citizen was the first to use titanium — then a relatively new, space-age material — in its X-8 Chronometer.

In 1996, Citizen introduced its Eco-Drive technology. This powers the company’s watches using any light source, not just sunlight. This removed the need for a battery and thus the chance of running out of power at an inopportune time — such as a dive.

It also adds a component of sustainability to the watch, in addition to an insanely long run time. Citizen notes that on a full charge, an Eco-Drive watch will keep running for 6 months in complete darkness.

The following Citizen Promaster dive watches are all powered by Eco-Drive technology even today. And they vary in the number of dive features, depth of water resistance, and styles.

The ISO compliance notes refer to the industry standards for reporting water resistance claims.

Citizen Promaster Aqualand Men’s Strap Watch BJ2168-01E

A classic stainless steel case paired with a black polyurethane strap. This dive watch is water-resistant up to 200 m. Divers should note it has a maximum depth memory and a power reserve indicator. It displays the date and time in 12- or 24-hour time formats. And it boasts a chronograph as well.

Citizen Aqualand Promaster Limited Edition Men’s Watch BN2037-03E

The Aqualand 30th Anniversary Limited Edition ISO-compliant watch has diving features like maximum depth memory, rapid ascent alarm, auto-start dive mode, and a power reserve indicator. The case is stainless steel with rose gold-tone ion plating that contrasts with the black rings, dial, and polyurethane strap.

Citizen Promaster Diver Men’s Watch BN0191-55L

This Promaster Diver men’s watch meets ISO compliance down to 200 m. It has a 43mm stainless steel case styled with an aluminum one-way rotating elapsed-time bezel, a matching blue dial, and luminescent hands and markers.

Promaster Diver Men’s Watch BN0152-06E

This popular dive watch is ISO rated for depths up to 200 m. The 42mm stainless steel case comes with a black polyurethane strap. Gold highlights contrast the black dial and one-way rotating bezel. And the black polyurethane strap fastens with a buckle clasp.

Diving Deeper

Citizen Promaster Dive watches are not only high-performing but also affordable in the competitive watch market. The most expensive of the bunch tops out at just over $500, while the most affordable clocks in near $260.

And each is backed by a 5-year warranty, with an extra year added if you register your watch through Citizen.

Citizen also employs the use of atomic timekeeping with its world multiband models. This radio control technology updates your watch, thanks to a time signal from an atomic clock. The margin of error is one second every 100,000 years. That’s tight timing.

Check out the Citizen Promaster Dive Collection below.

This article is sponsored by Jared. See more of the Promastercollectionand other watches online.

Swiss watchmaker Reservoir’s new Airfight Titane expands the future by delving into the past. The Airfight Titane delivers an instrument panel as a timekeeper, with a retrograde minute hand, jumping hour window, and fuel gauge as a battery meter. Nothing like it has ever come across our desk, but its ancestors have prolifically flown skies both friendly and unfriendly.

To put it in the company’s words, the Reservior Airfight Titane watch “takes its inspiration from the functionalities and the aesthetic appeal of measurement instruments of days gone by.” Get behind the joystick with the deeply retro, but eminently functional, Airfight Titane.

Airfight Titane: Old-School Display as Update

The coolest thing about the Airfight Titane is that it uses anachrony to forge an update. But before you banish it to the same category as steampunk or lumbersexual, think again. Not only is the Airfight’s face novel and eye-catching, but it’s also highly functional.

Aircraft instrument panels have to be easy to read because it’s crucial for the pilot to limit distractions. So the Airfight watch’s display, by proxy, is equally functional. The retrograde minute hand has clearly marked 5- and 10-minute designations. The jumping hour counter has a high-contrast border. And we all know how to read a fuel gauge.

The watch’s stark black and white color scheme emphasizes its utility.

Specs

This Swiss watch has a self-winding mechanical movement that charges the watch for 37 hours. For those that don’t know, self-winding watches charge their own batteries through perpetual motion mechanisms. The mechanisms draw energy from random movement while on the user’s wrist. The movement can be observed through a 240-degree window on the back of the case.

The case is 43 mm, satin, and polished titanium. And if you pilot through any squalls with the Airfight on your wrist, you’ve got no problem if your open canopy takes on some spitting rain. 5 ATM waterproof capability protects the watch.

The NATO strap completes the tacti-cool look. The reservoir includes an extra, in case you lose one in a dogfight.

Take Flight: Purchasing

Reservoir prices the singular Airfight Titane at $4350 MSRP. It also annotates prices with HT, seemingly indicating it accepts Huobi Tokens, a cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain. At the time of writing, $4350 USD exchanged for 330 HT.

Purchase

As recently as 2017, Bestech was a fledgling knife maker that had just released its first designs. But the most recent addition to its line looks as mature as it gets. The Bestech Sledgehammer adapts a Japanese tanto blade for a distinctive EDC folder.

Bestech released the knife about 3 weeks ago, among a recent flurry of new designs that have the industry abuzz. But with any upstart knife maker, there’s the same question: is it a POS?

I took a deep dive into the internet to find out. I may have come out mildly more deranged than before, but I learned a lot about Bestech’s credentials along the way. Spoiler alert (or not): Bestech is ready to surprise you.

Why Japanese Tanto?

The main advantage of any tanto blade is its durable point. More steel near the point means less breakage. This is especially important for any puncturing activities, which was a big part of how Samurai used the original tanto (or “short sword” in Japanese).

Bestech’s take on the Japanese tanto has a steep angle at the final grind. The shape should make it ideal for chopping or slicing, almost like a cleaver. And, of course, the point should be rock-solid. Breaking that much steel (especially tough D2) would take some work.

Bestech Sledgehammer Specs

The Sledgehammer is right on the lower end of a mid-sized pocket knife at 7.2 inches overall length, with a 3-inch blade. The flat scales help keep it narrow in your pocket, and a 3-inch blade is plenty for most EDC tasks. The handle measures about 3.25 inches from the choil to the butt, which could feel on the small side for users with thicker hands.

D2 steel has been used for knives since its inception around WWII, and for good reason. Edge retention and toughness are its strong suits. Bestech makes a few Sledgehammer variants with coated blades to limit corrosion, which can be common in D2.

Finally: Is It a POS? Bestech’s Credentials

From my view, the answer looks like a confident “no.” It’s still very early to say for sure, as the Sledgehammer hit the market in mid-May. But the D2 chosen by Bestech has lived up to its reputation for holding an edge in early testing around the internet.

My curmudgeon side remains a little skeptical of construction consistency — Bestech is only 4 years old. But interestingly, its parent company has a lot of experience in the trenches of knife making. Yangjiang Outdoor Winner Industries, which owns Bestech, has built knives for over a decade. Reportedly, Yangjiang has spent part of that time operating as an original equipment manufacturer for SOG and Gerber.

At the end of the day, the only place Bestech looks to be cutting costs is on its website design. The Sledgehammer MSRPs at a we’re-serious $65. And its warranty and list of authorized dealers both look legit.

If you’re feeling adventurous, go to the source and order one of the world’s newest EDC pocket knives, the Bestech Sledgehammer.

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If you’ve never seen an angrier-looking little knife, you’re not alone. The CRKT Provoke Compact’s mechanism is highly unique in the category. And the Compact knife design downsizes from the first generation of Provoke karambits without sacrificing much functionality.

If you want an EDC knife optimized for self-defense that sends a message, give the Provoke Compact a close look.

Provoke Compact Knife Operation

Obviously, the Provoke Compact knife is no ordinary folder. But how does it work?

To deploy the Provoke Compact’s blade, the action applies kinematics: the geometry of motion. CRKT has trademarked the term, but science is freely available. The study of how forces act on objects in a system inspires the Provoke series.

In practice, the user applies downward pressure on the closed knife’s upper crossbar with their thumb. That pressure sets a chain reaction in motion, making the blade “lunge” forward. From our first looks, the action looks fast and authoritative. The biggest advantage may be that the user never has to reposition their hand on the handle; gripping the compact knife and deploying the blade requires the same hand position.

A safety ring at the butt helps the user locate the knife easily, and adds grip security in a pinch.

Sized Down: Compact Specs

Folded, the CRKT Provoke Compact knife is just 4.5 inches long. Equipped with an innovative thumb-pressure-activated pocket clip that CRKT calls a “world’s first,” the compact knife should carry quite discreetly. The blade is a self-defense-optimized 2.26 inches long.

The Compact is about half an inch shorter overall than the original Provoke. However, it doesn’t sacrifice much in terms of blade: the original Provoke’s blade is only 0.2 inches longer. By those metrics, the Compact basically looks like an optimized redesign.

The knife’s handle is 6061 CNC-milled aluminum. The blade is stonewashed D2, known for positive wear resistance at a bargain price.

Carry and Purchasing

The CRKT Provoke Compact is best thought of as a self-defense knife. The downturned shape limits the utility in a lot of situations, though it would work great for package opening, or in many cases where you’d use a razor knife. The action should definitely impress your friends, and make a different kind of impression on any enemies.

CRKT launches the new Provoke Compact at MSRP $150.

Purchase

If you would have told my 10-year-old self that one day we would see 3D-printed custom scooters, I would have thought you were an alien. But with startup electric scooter builder Scotsman, the future is now.

Scotsman leverages 3D printing to deliver a highly customizable electric scooter. Though it’s not yet in production, the project is primed; it’s currently almost 400% funded through Indiegogo. Once operational, Scotsman will build the world’s first 3D printed electric scooters, based on each specific user’s body shape and ride preferences. From there, users can choose from a variety of motors, colors, and accessories.

3D Printed Electric Scooter Concept

If you don’t know much about 3D printing, here is a helpful resource from 3DInsider. Without getting in the weeds, 3D printing is the process of creating a physical object from a digital file in, you guessed it, 3 dimensions.

The execution of the concept has matured mightily. Now, Scotsman takes the logical step of applying it to personal mobility. Each “unibody” scooter will be 3D printed in one continuous pass of aerospace-grade carbon fiber thermoplastic. Each user calls the shots throughout Scotsman’s design, build, and delivery process, promising a bespoke experience.

Modular components are numerous as well: users can choose from an array of lights, mirrors, colors, accents, and of course, batteries and motors.

Power: What Makes the Scotsman Electric Scooter Go

Electric motors will be available in 500W, 1000W, or a formidable 2000W iteration. Most 2000W electric scooters currently available can reach top speeds of up to 40 MPH. I’m betting Scotsman’s builds can do that and then some; its unibody carbon fiber construction strongly suggests very low weight. It does plan to size scooters generously (by comparison to competitors), but the material’s ridiculously high strength-to-weight ratio gives it some leeway.

Scotsman also builds in a dual battery bay to make sure users never get left high and dry. The extra juice figures to be additionally important due to the electric scooter’s high connectivity. It has a color display that Scotsman calls the “world’s first” with a dashcam, 4G cellular connection, and GPS navigator.

Indiegogo Status and Launch

If you’re trying to experience the world’s first bespoke 3D printed electric scooter, we’ve got good news: 50% off early bird specials are still available. Get to the Indiegogo page to learn more and select from any of the available motor sizes. The 500W variant starts at $1500, down from the MSRP of $3000.

As of this writing, 2 weeks were left in the campaign. First units were expected to ship in December 2021.

Only a handful of years ago, many viewed cryptocurrency as a passing trend, or even a joke that would never really take hold in a meaningful way. But if the last few years have shown us anything, it’s that crypto is gaining popularity, and becoming easier to access and use in everyday life, even through direct payments for services. So much so that more and more people are in need of a proven, secure crypto wallet.

But since crypto isn’t as simple as a crisp dollar bill in your pocket, it’s important to have a secure spot to manage your assets. The D’CENT Biometric Crypto Wallet gives you access to all of your crypto transactions in a sleek, safe platform. It is designed to be carried anywhere and is packed with features that ensure your valuable digital currency is well protected.

Crypto Wallet Basics

The D’CENT Biometric Crypto Wallet is Bluetooth-enabled and can function with iOS and Android mobile apps. It weighs 1.27 ounces and fits easily in the palm of your hand or pocket at 3.08 inches in length by 1.7 inches in width.

It has a large OLED display that can show all of your crypto transaction information on one screen. The crypto wallet supports dozens of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Rootstock, DigiByte, Ravencoin, BitcoinGold, BitcoinCash, ERC20Token, Ripple, Monacoin, Zcash, Dashcoin, Klaytn, Litecoin, DogeCoin, and many others.

But the key feature of the wallet is its security features. The wallet comes with a certified Secure chip EAL5+, and a fingerprint sensor for added security and ease when making transactions. If the wallet is lost, stolen, or wiped, D’CENT includes a wallet recovery process that ensures you won’t have to worry about getting your information back.

The wallet also supports private key generation from the device itself, adding another layer of privacy compared to the alternate option of connecting to additional programs, which many other crypto wallets rely on.

Key Features:

• Fingerprint sensor
• Secure element: EAL5+
• Bluetooth low energy
• Battery 585mA
• 1.1-inch OLED display (128 x 128 pixels)
• 5 pin USB / USB OTG full speed

How Much?

The D’CENT Biometric Crypto Wallet is available for MSRP $119. With its extensive security features and easy-to-use design, the wallet promises to be the perfect companion for crypto buffs.

Purchase

Industry heads and space nerds are over the moon about the partnership between GM and  Lockheed-Martin to build the next-generation lunar rover for NASA’s Artemis missions. The companies’ joint announcement of the project in late May opened the door for development, implying a marriage of GM’s engineering capability and Lockheed-Martin’s cutting-edge tech.

“This is the stuff you dream about as a kid in science class,” Madhu Raghavan, Global Research & Development Group Manager at GM, said. “People want to be part of this.” Raghavan is right on point. My editors may or may not have told me to stop writing about vehicles, but this time, I had to take one small step for man.

The Artemis Program: Humans on the Moon for First Time in 50 Years

NASA’s Artemis program will land humans on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. It’s a scientific mission, engineered to gather critical information for the first manned missions to Mars.

That’s right: Mars. Artemis plans to put boots on moon dust by 2024. The next goal is to institute “sustainable missions” by 2028. At that point, NASA hopes to have the information it needs to send astronauts on the long journey to the red planet.

I don’t care who you are; if you don’t think that’s cool, you need to check your priorities. (Again, if my editors would continue to kindly look the other way….)

Lunar Mobility: Next Generation Lunar Rover from GM and Lockheed-Martin

Lockheed-Martin brings decades of experience working with NASA to the table. The company has built or contributed to various spacecraft dating back to the Viking missions in the 1970s; as well, NASA flew its iconic SR-71 Blackbird during the aircraft’s 36 years of service.

Lockheed-Martin will lead the team, but GM will bring valuable off-road engineering experience, a focus on human safety, and, notably, a technology from its growing electric vehicle program.

The finished product will need everything the team can pack it with: its challenges are steep. Lunar days and nights are two weeks long. Daytime temperatures reach 260°F; temperatures at night drop to a mind-bending 260°F below. Of course, the vehicle will also face intense radiation as astronauts deploy it on an array of scientific missions.

According to Lockheed-Martin, the rover will be tasked on missions intended to “increase our understanding of how the Moon formed and evolved, how it interacts with the Sun, and how water and other resources arrived at the Moon, and how they are transported and preserved.”

A Long Way to the Top: How to Drive a Lunar Rover

There’s only one way to get behind the wheel or joystick, of the new lunar rover: join NASA. And even then, you may not get to joyride it — GM and Lockheed-Martin also target full autonomous capability.

The closest you can get in the consumer market? Any electric vehicle made by GM, such as the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning. It’s hinted that R&D on the lunar rover’s battery tech could bleed over to electric vehicles here on Mother Earth.

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Damascus steel! Carbon fiber! Named after an adorable doggo! What more could you want from a pocket knife? If it’s heft and performance, the Civivi Bullmastiff has you covered. The impossible-to-ignore Damascus/carbon fiber iteration (newest in the line) guarantees your EDC kit will stand out. And the Mini version, with a capable but compact 3-inch blade, just hit a deep price drop.

Civivi Mini Bullmastiff Pocket Knives As Art

Damascus steel, though more common than it used to be, is something of a holy grail in the blade world. Its storied reputation is over a millennium old, based on an ancient technique for folding steel during forging. These days, much of the Damascus legend exists in the sands of time, and the alloy’s characteristics have become secondary to its artistic value.

Civivi puts it overtly on display with the Mini Bullmastiff’s 3-inch cleaver-shaped blade. The tall blade gives the owner or admirer plenty of room to get lost in the Damascus pattern. A deep channel adds an aesthetic touch.

The blade’s aqueous pattern contrasts sharply against the Bullmastiff’s gridded handle. The 4.2-inch G10 handle is overlaid with a layer of twill-patterned carbon fiber.

The Mini Bullmastiff Pocket Knife as EDC Functionality

Anyone can see that the Civivi Bullmastiff looks badass, but does its bite match its bark? All signs point to yes.

Though it doesn’t sound like much, the 3-inch blade promises to impress with its sheer heft. The knife is 7.17 inches long when it’s open, and weighs in at a robust 3.46 ounces. Because of the clever shape and lightweight G10 handle, the knife should feel naturally heavier toward the blade. The 4.2-inch handle should accommodate most users’ hands very comfortably. A relatively deep choil helps secure the grip.

A cleaver is an unusual choice for an EDC blade, but it makes sense in a lot of applications. For opening packages, I often grip my knife blade near the edge between my thumb and forefinger (pro tip: it’s a depth gauge). The Bullmastiff’s blade facilitates this with plenty of room in the vertical. I know it’s painful to damage something beautiful, but if the chips are down, a wider blade is better for prying or bottle opening. And if you ever find yourself chopping food, say at a campsite, a cleaver is clearly the tool for the job.

A Deal on Damascus Steel

From what we’ve seen, we’re impressed with the Civivi Mini Bullmastiff’s fast, loud action and unignorable appearance. Find out for yourself at Civivi’s website, where the Mini Bullmastiff is currently down from MSRP $100 to $75.

Purchase

GoodMaps Explore identifies a critical, but often overlooked necessity in navigation technology: mapping indoor spaces. Every inch of the planet’s outdoor surface has been digitally mapped, and Google has codified most of it with LiDAR mapping and GPS. You’ve seen the Google cars driving around with the periscope? GoodMaps fits LiDAR backpacks on human operators to map indoor spaces.

The tech is revolutionary for vision-impaired populations or anyone who finds themselves in unfamiliar territory.  Surrounded by signs in languages you don’t understand? Fire up GoodMaps Explore to pull back the linguistic curtain and navigate your foreign situation. The app, available on the App Store and Google Play, continues to evolve since its recent debut.

Enhanced Indoor Navigation: GoodMaps Tech and Concept

GoodMaps starts with boots on the ground — literally. Then, using a LiDAR backpack, a GoodMaps employee walks the space to be mapped (museum, airport, mall, sidewalk crossing), and the pack collects data.

Digital imaging takes over from there, generating a model of the space that’s as accurate as possible. As soon as the map uploads to the GoodMaps Explore database, it’s accessible to any user. Smartphone camera-based positioning cuts down on abrasion and cost for the building host by eliminating the need for beacons or other devices.

Travel Tech

The user experience can help travelers as well as the visually impaired. By announcing upcoming points of interest, like emergency exits, restrooms, and intersections, the app helps blind users similarly to the way signs help sighted people. And anyone who’s ever been in a foreign city without being fluent in the local language can understand the app’s utility. Need a bathroom but don’t know if that door on the left might lead to some unknown portal? Cue GoodMaps.

GoodMaps Explore App Status

GoodMaps Explore App Status

As of this writing, the GoodMaps Explore user experience looks pretty rudimentary. It launched late last year and currently has 100+ downloads on Play Store. But it does promise capability once it gets humming, with a “Favorites” section for saving locations and “Lookaround” for exploring directionally, just by pointing your phone in any direction. In addition, choose-your-own-adventure types can use the “Getting Warmer” feature to make their own route to any specified location.

The main obstacle seems to be with available data. Based on my testing, I’d consider it in beta. Explore did accurately identify some locations around my neighborhood, but it also shunted me to Google Maps a lot. And it wasn’t always on point — I confirmed that a place called “Davy’s Delicatessen” on “Bologna Boulevard” does not, in fact, exist 828 feet from my office.

Winner, Winner

But you don’t win an Innovation award at CES (GoodMaps did in April 2021) for nothing, and the company promises to expand its reach throughout the year. Once the data catches up with the technology, the pioneering app stands to empower visually impaired populations dramatically.

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